September 15, 2008 · 4:39 pm

“Baptized into His Death” Frees Us from Sin–The Doctrine of Baptisms

The early apostles’ taught their third doctrine–the “doctrine of baptisms” with an “s.”  For there are several baptisms in the Christian walk–not just the one with water.

The first baptism mentioned was John the Baptist’s “baptism unto repentance.”  He encouraged the people to repent of their sins, be baptized in water, thus pointing them to the Lamb of God, who would soon become the Sacrifice for all men’s sins.  “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Mt. 3:11).  Here we have three baptisms in one verse.

The baptism in water is symbolic of the death of our old sinful heart (see post on this at https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/baptismempty-ritual-or-symbol-of-death-of-self/ ).  Paul taught that it was symbolic of being immersed into Christ’s death.  “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6: 3).

Just How Are We Immersed into Christ’s Death?

     Just before Christ died, this perfectly sinless man took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future.  Sin was transferred onto this sin offering, and He died with all our sins upon Him.  Consequently, when He died, my old self died.  When He died that day, our old selfish egos died.

When He was literally buried in the tomb, our old lives were buried.  Gone.  Over with.  And when He rose from the dead, we rose from the deadness of our sinful existence, into a brand new wonderful life, energized with God’s Spirit now within (for more on this, see “Introduction” of my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God  found at the top of this page).  All this has already been done for us by God.  We have to only believe it when we read it in Romans 6: 3-7 :

     “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

     We are now free from sin–if we really believe it.  Free!  We are no longer slaves to the pulls, urges, and demands of that old spiritual nature that held us in bondage to do sinful acts!  I’m talking about revolutionary freedom here!  We were dead to sin, but now we live unto God by faith in the Spirit that He has given us.

     Water baptism is just the symbol of this immersion into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  Believing and walking in this truth is the reality.  But God has promised his sons and daughters more and greater baptisms–the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire, which takes us into the very presence of God’s transformative power.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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September 9, 2008 · 2:26 pm

“Faith Toward God”–The Second Apostles’ Doctrine

    We are told to repent from our old life in the first apostles’ doctrine, but how do we do it?  How do we really change our old selfish ways, and let the old self die?  The second apostles’ doctrine teaches us how to do it. 

     How do we get rid of the old sinful life and get into the new life in Christ?  We reckon it done by faith/belief.  How do we start walking in a brand new life?  We reckon it done by faith.  Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ (Yahshua Messiah). Rom. 6:11. 

     We’ve got to reckon it done!  The word “reckon” is #3049 in Strong’s.  It means “to account it, to count it as such.”

     God wants us to reckon it so, but He does it first! When we turn to Him, then He counts us righteous in His eyes even in our imperfect state.  It is His nature to “call those things that do not exist as though they did.” Rom. 4:17, NKJV. If He is this positive, then He would want His children to be the same.

     He wants us to follow in His footsteps!  God “accounted” righteousness to Abraham because of his belief—before Abraham was righteous!  “Accounted” here is the same word as the one translated “reckon.”  We are commanded to RECKON some things done.  Now we have to reckon our sinful self gone—by belief—as though it were already done—for that is how God looks at it!  By belief!  Reckon it done through Him and His faith.  He said it.  Let it be done.  For what saith the scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.  Rom. 4:3.  Yahweh imputed, reckoned to Abraham the ability to live in a upright manner, keeping Yahweh’s laws and not sinning, by just believing that Yahweh had done it!  We make it so hard through our hard heart of unbelief.  He is looking for childlike faith, the belief of a small child.  All we have to do is just believe that Yahweh has provided a way for us to actually put the old life to death and start living a new life in Him (read more from my book on this subject at   http://www.yahwehisthesavior.com/yahch30.htm ). 

     When Christ died, our old sins died with Him that day.  When He was buried, we were buried.  And when He arose, we arose with Him.  It is already done in God’s eyes.  We just have to receive this new life by faith and belief.  It hinges on our belief in Christ’s resurrection.  By us believing that He was raised from the dead, we are raised with Him to walk in a newness of life. 

      The old ministers of centuries past knew this and  preached and wrote about this–Luther, Wesley, Murray, et al.  But in the last days, there will be a departing from the faith–the faith that reckons it so, believing in the life-changing power of the cross experience.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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September 6, 2008 · 5:13 pm

Repentance from Dead Works–The First Apostles’ Doctrine

True repentance is the first apostles’ doctrine or teaching.  It is the first stone to be laid in the foundation of the LORD’S (Yahweh’s) house, us.  The first thing we are told to do by Christ and His apostles is, “Repent.”  Because without repentance, the other teachings cannot be done.

It is the foundation upon which the rest of the Christian walk is built.  That foundation is comprised of (1) repentance from dead works, (2) faith toward God, (3) doctrine of baptisms, (4) laying on of hands, (5) resurrection of the dead, (6) eternal judgement, and (7) perfection (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

Repentance from Dead Works

“Repentance” is from the Greek word metanoia, meaning “a change of mind.”  Thoughts originate from the heart, then on through the mind, and then out through the mouth and actions of the body.  So when Christ and His apostles tell us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they are saying we must have a change of heart and mind.  The selfish heart of mankind must go, and then we can talk, Christ is saying.

Every thought and action of natural, unregenerated man and woman is in God’s eyes a “dead work.”  It is an action void of spiritual life.  A disciple said to Christ, “Let me bury my father.”  But the Master told him, “Let the dead bury their dead.”  Christ equated those doing the burying with those being buried.  In God’s eyes, both were lifeless, without the Spirit.  Without God, our little plans and dreams are lifeless, vain, unprofitable.

So God cannot live in the midst of all that selfishness—a lawlessness that is called sin, for the breaking of the ten commandments is sin.  And God hates sin because it is so against His nature.  He wants to live in man and woman, but He can’t because when man is full of himself, then there is no room for God.  Selfish action is a selfish spirit and  is  the  opposite  of  God’s  Spirit,  which  is the action called Love.

So there again is man’s problem; he wants to live forever, but wants to live his own selfish life forever, and this thinking breeds mortality, the way of death.  In order to gain immortality, man must have God’s Spirit living within him.  But the Spirit of God will not dwell in temples (bodies) that are unclean (have actions done in them that are sinful in breaking the l0 commandments).  Mankind that comes as far as this knowledge on the road of life comes to a fork in the road.  He must chose to either remain as he is and how he has been living, or he must seek a way to repent, to change the error of his ways.

God has provided a way for us to repent; it is the cross.  Not that Christ died on the cross.  Everyone has heard that story.  But that we must surrender our old self and let it die on the Cross with Christ.  This is how to repent from dead works.  It is the “baptism into His death” (Romans 6: 1-6).             Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{For more on this subject, go to the right hand column, and under “Categories,” click “Repentance.”}

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September 2, 2008 · 10:40 pm

The Apostles’ Doctrine–Curriculum of God’s True Teachers

Teachers of God will expound His way, while false prophets and false teachers lie to the flock of God.  The true teachers are gifts to mankind from God (Ephesians 4: 11).  They are precious and very few in number.  If we seek, we will find one, and we will hold them dear.

But how can we tell the true from the false?  The true teachers will have a grasp of the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42).  They will know how to explain in detail how one repents, how faith works in us receiving a new heart.  In short, they will have true knowledge of the “principles of the doctrine of Christ” (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

Yet they will also know that one must leave those first principles in order to “go on unto perfection.” The Spirit that is within them will “lead us into all truth.”  They will know that it is Christ in them who actually is the real Teacher.

Many in “church circles” talk about wanting the same life as the early church in the book of The Acts of the Apostles.  They see the miracles and wonders performed and long for that same divine power to hold sway on the earth today.  They want, however, to circumvent the procedure used in those enlightened days right after Christ’s resurrection.  They want to accept Christ, be baptized, and then they want to set the world on fire with God’s power.

Before the miracles come from God, pre-requisites must be done. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:42-43).  Here you see the progression of things: the doctrine, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers, fear of God, and then came the wonders and signs.

“We Don’t Want Doctrine–Just Jesus”

It was the apostles’ doctrine that the early converts stayed in.   They did those teachings.  For “doctrine” is translated from the Greek word didaskalia, which means “teaching; that which is taught.”  Beware of those who will say, “We don’t want doctrine, we just want Jesus!”  If they could only realize that the Savior Himself was referred to as a “Didaskalos,” meaning “Teacher, Master.”  The same root word!  People who say, “We don’t want doctrine” are really saying they do not want the real Christ and what He taught.

The true teachers of God will teach true repentance from sin in one’s life and how faith works to give us a new heart and new spirit that pleases God in not sinning against Him.  And this is just the first principles “of the doctrine of Christ” (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

This is not a new thing that I write about.  Read it for yourself in Martin Luther’s writings, “The Sermon on three-fold Righteousness [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/3formsrt.html ; in the sermons of John Wesley (  http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/sermons/040.htm ), founder of the Methodist Church; from Andrew Murray, 19th Century Scottish Missionary and author  http://www.victoryoversin.com/murray/like/lc24.htm ); or in my book The Apostles’ Doctrine [free copies available].

So, turn away from anyone who doesn’t teach the apostles’ doctrine, that says that you cannot be a righteous son or daughter of God.  Don’t believe them.  They will try to drag you down into the same spiritual slop that they are stuck in.  Find yourself a true teacher and study out the apostles’ doctrine, for those are the teachings of Christ.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

* “Sermon on Three-fold Righteousness” at  http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/3formsrt.html

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August 29, 2008 · 9:12 pm

“Beware of False Prophets”–Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

     Christ warned us about being deceived by false prophets.  We must realize that after “placing our hands to the plow,” our enemy Satan has been authorized by God (Yahweh) to test us and prove us (remember the story of Job).  He’ll try to deceive us and detour us.  And Satan will use men to do this–false prophets and teachers. 

“Let No Man Deceive You”

     Being deceived by false prophets and teachers is the first thing Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Anointed One) warned us of when He spoke of the last days before His coming.  A potential son or daughter of God can be fooled by false teachers, false prophets, and false ministers of Christ. 

     We are to “take heed that no man deceive you” (Matt. 24: 4). These men are wolves in sheep’s clothing and are the deceivers.  For they will come in His name and deceive many (v. 5, 11).  In fact, don’t believe them when they say, Christ is here; you’ll find him by following me.  “Believe it not.  For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets” (v. 23-24).      

     We have been warned.  “There shall be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in damnable heresies” (II Peter 2: 1).  We must realize that these have “transformed themselves into the apostles of Christ.”  They are imposters, peddling themselves off as God’s ministers, like Satan who has transformed himself into a “messenger of light” (II Cor. 11:13-14). 

Enter the Kingdom of God Through the Narrow Gate

     But it is difficult to know whether a minister is deceiving us or not.  Christ gave us a sign.  He said for us to enter His kingdom through a narrow gate.  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”  Many will be deceived by false teachers who provide an easy-to-get-through gate into Christendom, but it is the false way that leads to death.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7: 13-14).  Few will find Christ’s true way.  There it is in black and white.  

     Then Christ warns in the very next verse to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Mt. 7:15).  Revelation: The false prophets are the very ones that are leading the “many” through the false wide gate that is not taking the deceived masses to the place they were promised.

     Televangelists, pastors of megachurches, and leaders of Christian sects never warn their people about these false prophets and false teachers.  Ever  wonder why?     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 24, 2008 · 12:34 am

Memories of Pleiku, 18th Surgical Hospital, 1967

Pleiku.  The Highlands.  I was only there about a month or two.  Seemed longer at the time, like a short lifetime.  As it turned out, many lifetimes ended there.  I arrived in Pleiku the last week of October 1967.  I was in Saigon for med. lab training the month before, learning to test for malaria–something they didn’t teach us stateside.

I remember that it was so cool there.  It was up out of the steaming coastal areas where you could definitely breathe better.

The hospital physically looked like it had been there for many years.  The buildings were semi-permanent wooden structures that gave it an air of stability.  I can say that because the 18th Surg would go MASH in Nov.-Dec ’67.

I was just getting my bearings, green as heck, 20 years old, learning under a 30 year old Spec. 5 lifer who knew what he was doing.  I didn’t, of course, but I learned the ropes fast–obtaining blood samples from the wounded and then cross-matching units of blood for them.  That is what I did 95% of the time during my tour.  The hundred other lab tests that I was taught to do seemed insignificant, superfluous busy work discarded in the face of bloody ordeals.  That ought to tell you something about how many casualties we took in.  We worked a 12 hour shift, 7 days a week, always on call.

Many enlisted men (and a Major) turned to marijuana to ease the tension of the brutal toll taken on our nerves.  Yes, I was weak and succumbed to the temptation to forget everything chemically.  Just getting back home to the “world” was all that mattered at the time, in one piece, physically and mentally.  I am not proud of this fact, but God was good to me and allowed me to learn from my mistakes.  I am pleased now with the work we all did in saving lives.  That part makes me feel good.

I remember one night in Pleiku, I was walking back to our barracks at night, very stoned.  A big ruckus came blowing out the door and onto the front lawn.  I peaked in and saw a boot flying in slow motion through the air.  Excited yells echoed off the walls.  “I hit him!  There he is!  He’s still alive!  Let me have him!”  It turned out to be a rat that McDonald, the company clerk, had stunned.

He then picked it up, took it outside, and commenced to douse it with lighter fluid.  Soon the Zippo was out and a writhing animal bond-fire was ignited.  Everyone was laughing maniacally.  I guess the tension was being relieved like when some of us laugh during a horror movie.  It was pretty crazy.

Funny how you remember stupid things like that.  The mind has a way of forgetting the truly traumatic incidences in our lives.  God allows us to forget those times when we either did dark things or had them done to us.  I suppose it allows us to continue on, to walk on toward the sunshine.

I, of course, have forgotten the faces of suffering I saw everyday–the dying young men at the 18th Surgical Hospital during my year there in 1967-1968.  Hundreds, thousands were treated.  If I could remember them now, I would be so heartbroken all the time that I wouldn’t be much good for anything else.

I remember that I was welcomed by my brothers-in-arms because I was a professional barber before I was drafted.  Oakland, Calif. Barber College.  It was the family business; Dad was a barber, Uncle Dale and others…They told me that the Vietnamese barber that had been cutting their hair at the hospital had been captured and was a Vietcong.  He was holding scissors and razors against the heads of our men by day and raining down mortars on them by night.  So I was a big hit as I set up shop in our barracks during my free time.  The C. O., other officers, and many enlisted men were my clients.  I actually made more money cutting hair than I made in army salary.

Being in Pleiku was a pretty nice gig, except for the bloodshed.  We had a nice club and had bands come in–GI dudes who were very good rock musicians, working for the USO special services, making their rounds to the different NCO clubs.  I remember a trio–elec. guitar/lead vocals, bass, drums–that were dynamite. In fact they played “Mr. Dynamite” James Brown songs, cape and all, plus the wicked Pickett, Otis, Temptations, a big hit for us.

It was there in Pleiku that I got my nickname that stuck with me the whole year–“The Groove.”  It was a difficult name to live up to, but I tried very hard.  A short-timer named Tenant saw me on my cot playing the Martin guitar that I hauled all the way from home.  He comes over and says very loud and sarcastically, “Hey, everybody, look at this guy.  That’s just groovy, man.  He is so groovy.”  And it stuck.

My one to two months at Pleiku working at 18th Surg proved to be the best months during my tour.  We would move the hospital to Lai Khe/Long Bien in Nov. 1967, be over-run during the Tet Offensive and have to move again, finally winding up 15 miles from the DMZ in Quang Tri, where the salty red stuff flowed more abundantly, and a thousand personal insanities cried out for Mom, apple pie, and a good bed.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{If you were in 18th Surg during 1967-68, at Pleiku, Lai Khe, or Quang Tri, please make a comment.  I would love to hear from you.  I’m trying to get in touch with those who were there with me.  I would love to have some photos; I don’t have a one of my time there.  Thank you.  KWH}

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August 21, 2008 · 2:08 pm

The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel–A Short History

     Christ speaks a lot about “the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”  But who are they?  A short history will help unravel the mystery.  

     God chose him out a people to work through and manifest Himself in.  They were direct descendants of Adam, on through Noah, Shem, on through to Abraham, to whom He made exceeding wonderful promises.  God literally visited Abraham and told him that if he would believe Him and love Him and walk in HIs ways, that Abraham and his children would inherit the world (Rom. 4: 13). 

     God (Yahweh) also told Abraham, “Thou shalt be a father of many nations” (Gen. 17: 4).  In fact, God changed his name to Abraham, which means in Hebrew, “father of a great multitude.”  God makes a covenant with this man and tells him, “I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee…”  It is an “everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (v. 5-7).

     Please note that he is the father of “many nations.”  This could not be the modern day Jewish nation of Israelis, for they are only one nation, have never been many nations, and have always been small in number–and that without a king.

      Picking up the story, Abraham and Sarah had the miracle “son of promise” Isaac, who had Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.  Jacob/Israel had twelve sons, and they became twelve tribes.  We all know the story of them being enslaved in Egypt for 400 years and how they came out of bondage led by the prophet Moses into the “Promised Land”–the land promised to their forefather Abraham. 

     Eventually they became the Kingdom of Israel under the illustrious King David about 1000 B.C.  They had been warned  by God through Moses that they would be blessed beyond measure if they loved God and kept His commandments, and they would be punished if they forgot God and worshipped other gods.  “And the LORD (Yahweh) shall scatter you among all people” (Deut. 28: 64). 

     David’s son, King Solomon, sinned against God in worshipping other gods.  “Forasmuch as thou hast not kept my covenant {going all the way to his forefather Abraham}, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant” (I Kings 11: 11). 

     After Solomons death about 975 B.C., a civil war ensued and ten of the northernmost tribes broke away and set up the Kingdom of Israel with Samaria as its capital.  The remaining two tribes, Judah and Benjamin (with a few of Levi), became the Kingdom of Judah. 

     From then on these two distinct kingdoms are referred to as the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.  They have two different king lines, but both are admonished by the true prophets of God. 

     They told both kingdoms that although their sins would eventually lead them into captivity, that God in the last days would regather all twelve tribes and restore them back to the land of promise.  God will have compassion and “will gather thee from all the nations” where you have been scattered (Deut. 30: 3; Jer. 30: 11). 

     In about 721 B.C. the Kingdom of Israel is taken captive by the Kingdom of Assyria.  Their identity is lost to most historians.  These are the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.”  The Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylonia around 600 B.C.  They were scattered but they maintained their identity.  The Jews, then, are not these lost Israelites; they were called Judahites and later Jews. 

     Christ, with Yahweh’s compassionate Spirit inside, was always doing His Father’s business in finding and regathering them.  But who are they, and what are these many nations that they became?  Many proofs point that they are the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Scandanavian peoples of the world.  They are the only countries that can fulfill all the prophecies given over the ancient House of Israel (Gen. 49: 22-26).  {A library of information on this vital subject can be found here:    http://www.ensignmessage.com/default.asp }.

     One need only use the search engines to see thousands of websites devoted to proving all this.  We need to prove all things to ourselves as His future rulers in His kingdom.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 16, 2008 · 1:46 pm

“The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”–Entering the “Mind of Christ”

     We are told to “let this mind be in you”–the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5).  We are to have His thoughts, to think the way He does, to meditate on subjects that fill His mind.  After all, He is the King, and if He is truly our Master, then we will strive to think His thoughts and to have His mind.

     So, then, how can we know His thoughts?  What is He thinking right now?  He is the “same yesterday, today, and forever,” so His thoughts 2,000 years ago are still in His mind today.  What are they? 

     The answer lies in the words He spoke.  Whatever thoughts were in His heart and mind, that is what came out of His mouth.  And one of those things was His concern for “the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”  

     A Canaanite woman, who was not of Israelite stock, came to Him and wanted Him to heal her daughter.  But He said nothing.  She cried for mercy.  And kept on so much so that His disciples said to Him, “Send her away for she keeps crying out after us.”  Instead of sending her away, Christ says something very curious.  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”  He was saying, First, I’ve got my people who need Me, and they don’t know who they are.  They are like sheep without a shepherd, and I need to help them.

     Then “the woman came and knelt before Him.  Lord, help me!”  

     And then He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”  This bread is for the children, the children of Israel, He was saying.  These spiritual gifts are for them primarily.

      Then she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  This touched Him, and so He praised her faith and healed her daughter (Mt. 15:22-28, NIV). 

      The point: Christ made it very clear who He was thinking about.  It was the lost sheep first.  That was His primary mission.  He was compassionate and honored the faith of the Gentile woman and blessed her.  But His main mission was to gather “the outcasts of Israel.” 

     To solve this mystery of who they are, we must keep an open mind.  Hopefully we now have a reason to study a bit of Biblical history in order to unravel the strands.  These “lost sheep of the House of Israel” are extremely important to Christ, and now to us.  “Finding” these “lost sheep” will uncover one of the secrets of the ages.  More later.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 11, 2008 · 10:34 pm

“God’s Elect”–His Body, His Chosen, His Church

     God’s church is His elect, His “chosen ones.”  To those drenched in humanism, that will sound elitist and unacceptable, for humans do the choosing in this world.

     But the Scriptures of truth say otherwise.  They speak of an “election”–one not in which we choose or elect, but one in which God chooses those whom He wants to reside in.  And this truth goes against the grain of unsurrendered modernism.

          The words “elect” and “chosen” are translated from the same Greek word eklektos (Strong’s # G1588); its root word means “to pick out, to choose.” 

     These “chosen ones” are called “God’s elect.”  And these play a big role during these last days.  But who are they exactly?

Saints, Faithful Brethren, Elect of God

     The apostle Paul shows us a clear picture of them in the book of Colossians.  He writes “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (1:2).  They are also fruitful Christians (v. 6).  They have “love in the Spirit” (v. 8).  Paul confirms their “redemption through His blood” and includes them as being members of Christ’s “body, the church” (v. 18). 

     Paul, as their minister, is so close to them as Christian brethren, that he shares an astounding revelation from God.  He declares to them “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1: 25-27). 

     Paul continues to share precious truths to the Colossians in ch. 2.  He has called them saints, the body of Christ, and the church.  And in lieu of all this, he admonishes them: “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (3: 12). 

      Being Christ’s body and church, and having His Spirit makes you His elect, Paul is telling them.   And because He dwells in you, you are the “elect of God.”  Or, because you are the “elect of God,” He dwells in you.  Here we see the Colossians called saints, the body of Christ, the church, and the God’s elect–or His chosen. 

“I Have Chosen You”

     Speaking to His disciples, Christ says, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit…” (John 15: 16).  The word “chosen” here is from the same word translated “elect.”  You are my elect, He is saying, my chosen ones that will bear the spiritual fruit, bearing witness that my Spirit is in you.

     Later in that sequence, Christ prays for those disciples, and “for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee” (John 17:20-21).  Oneness–the Spirit of God in His chosen ones as the Father is in Christ. 

     That’s us, brothers and sisters.  We have believed on Christ through the words written down by His very disciples whom He prayed for.  We are His body, His church, His elect, His chosen.  

     So when we see “the elect” spoken of in the scriptures, know that it is His church, His body of believers.  And we see “the elect” on earth during the Tribulation Period (See “No Pre-Tribulation Rapture” at  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/no-pre-tribulation-rapture-gods-elect-on-earth-during-tribulation/ ).           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 7, 2008 · 11:54 am

“Thine Is the Kingdom, Power, Glory”–Surrendering to God

     It is all His, and we’ll surrender to Him when we believe it.  Because in the end, it will be all Him.  It is the Father’s kingdom rule that will hold sway to the furthest speck of the universe. 

     His power will permit what He desires and will permeate the will of mankind.  He will share His glory with the humble, with those who have abdicated and renounced themselves unworthy to rule their own lives, and have surrendered to His majesty for ever.

     Here lies a paradox.  There is nothing in the plan of God for us humans, and yet, if we surrender to Him, we inherit all things!  How can this be?

     Christ is teaching us His disciples in this closing line of the blueprint prayer to realize that it is all about the Father.  In the end, after our fitful demands and childish schemes, all of us humans will fall into one of two categories: vessels surrendered to Him or unsurrendered to Him.

     “Surrender” implies a fight that has taken place.  We see in the natural a little child throwing a fit, fighting the will of his parents.  It is his will versus his parents’ will.  And so it is spiritually with us adults.  We have our own will initially that fights against God’s will for our lives.  And His will is for us to see that His way is best and surrender to it.

     For He, of course, already knows “the end from the beginning,” and in the end, it will be all Christ.  The Spirit of Christ will be all, and will fill all (Colossians 3:11). 

     When we surrender to Him, we receive His Spirit into our hearts (“that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith”–Ephesians 3:17).  He begins to make His abode in us; He takes up residence in our hearts, and His Spirit in us grows as we water the Seed through study and prayer.  He actually fills us with His goodness.

     He in His surrendered vessels is how He multiplies Himself.  This is the role that we His followers play.  For we become more than just followers.  We become His dwelling place, His temple, His body.

     The “Father of glory” glorified Christ, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15).  The Father unleashed His power and glory to be channeled through Christ.  And He has opened it up to the likes of us.  To us, who were so far removed morally from His purity, has He provided a way “to partake of His divine nature” (II Peter 1:4). 

     If we surrender to Him.  And those who do will become His body, His very dwelling place, which is “the fulness of Him that fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23).  Full of His power, full of His glory, and full of His regal aspect.  Wow.  That is all I can say right now.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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